In recent times, Shanghai landlords have been reducing rent prices in order to quickly rent out their properties. Some landlords have even refurbished their properties, installed new appliances, and increased the cost-effectiveness of their homes to attract tenants.
According to a report by “Times Weekly” on June 5th, Zhang Jianguang, a real estate agent in Shanghai (alias), stated that renting out properties has become increasingly difficult, especially in the older areas of the city. The transaction volume in the system shows that in previous years, there were seven to eight transactions per month, but this year there are only two to three per month. The reality that “Shanghai properties are always in demand” is changing.
Landlords are feeling the effects more deeply than agents. Landlord Piao Yi (alias) owns a property in downtown Shanghai, right next to a foreign language school and a subway station, with a prime location. Based on last year’s market prices, the rent should not be less than 5200 yuan per month. However, after waiting for seven months, the property remains unrented. In order to rent out the property as soon as possible, Piao Yi repainted the walls, replaced the appliances, and occasionally gave bonuses to agents, hoping for more promotion of the property. Despite lowering the rent to 4800 yuan per month, there are still few people coming to view the property.
Landlords like Piao Yi are not exceptions in Shanghai. Zhang Jianguang revealed that this year, landlords frequently message him to complain about not finding tenants after listing their properties for a long time, or to inquire about other landlords’ listing prices in the same area.
Some landlords cannot hold out any longer and have started proactively lowering prices to attract tenants and rent out their properties quickly. Some have even given up on using agents and are posting rental ads on various social media platforms.
As for the reasons causing the rental market to cool down, real estate agent Zhang Jianguang mentioned that in the past year, there have been tenants who mentioned the instability of their jobs as the reason for terminating their leases and leaving Shanghai, either to move to a city with lower living pressures or to seek opportunities in cities like Hangzhou and Suzhou, which offer subsidies and incentives for renting. Additionally, with the real estate market cooling down, some people opt to purchase new homes with preferential policies for self-occupation.
It’s not just Shanghai; the rental market in other Chinese cities is also cooling down. The China Index Research Institute’s report on the national housing leasing market in the first quarter of 2025 showed a cumulative average rental decrease of 0.44% in 50 cities.
The “2025 Outstanding Performance Report on Housing Leasing” released by the Observation Index recently demonstrated that in April of this year, the average unit rental price for residential properties in key cities (including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, etc.) dropped by 4.2% compared to the same period last year. Moreover, for four consecutive months this year, the single-month average listing rental prices in the 50 cities did not perform as well as the previous year, indicating a lack of momentum in rental price growth.
Some Shanghai landlords have stated that the key rule for survival in the rental market nowadays is simple: treat tenants as the priority and attract them with cost-effectiveness. “Only those who receive rent can truly be called landlords.”
A netizen named “Wendao” believes, “For working individuals, the largest expense is rent, but rental prices are intentionally raised by agents and landlords. Rental prices should return to a reasonable level, rather than squeezing the majority of young people, making them remain single, not marry, and not have children.”